Shaffe Raja, with his two young daughters, Grace and Brenda.
AMID escalating tensions in Clare Estate, thousands of Malawian nationals have sought refuge at Sherwood Hall grounds, sharing their heart-wrenching stories of loss, uncertainty, and the struggle to return home.
Many said they were forced to flee their homes in the middle of the night, abandoning all their possessions as fears for their safety intensified ahead of the June 30 ultimatum for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.
Shaffe Raja, 40, who arrived at Sherwood Hall grounds with his two daughters, Grace, 6, and Brenda, 3, said his family fled Clare Estate under the cover of darkness.
“We thought we still had time to pack and leave. However, our lives were threatened, and we had to leave in a hurry. We left all of our belongings in the house we were renting,” he said.
